Funeral Sermon for John Darrel Willems
May the words of my mouth and the
meditations of our hearts be pleasing in Your sight O Lord, our rock and our
redeemer!! AMEN!!
Let us pray! Gracious God and creator of heaven and earth,
as we gather to remember and celebrate our brother in Christ, Darrel, we know
You planted not only the seed that sprouted in the Garden of Eden, but created Darrel
to be a farmer who planted seeds of wheat as a farmer here in Northwest
Kansas. Yet today, we gather mourning
his entrance into the church triumphant, but are firmly assured of the seed of
the Gospel planted in his life, manifest in his baptism, fed by Your Word here
in Your house and nourished by his receipt of the Body and Blood of Your Son
and His and our Savior, Jesus Christ from around this altar. Cover us and comfort us with Your Holy Spirit
as we mourn and keep us secure in the promise of the salve of the Gospel that
proclaims the clear message of salvation offered through Jesus Christ death on
Calvary for all of Your saints, especially the saints of Darrel’s family and
friends gathered here at Emmanuel to say goodbye. AMEN.
Two years ago this very week of the
liturgical calendar in the days that followed Ash Wednesday, we gathered to
remember Darrel’s betrothed, Judy.
Separated by space and time, we again gather, singing some of the same
songs, hearing the same lessons and praying the same prayers, but today we
gather to say goodbye to Darrel. Today
we acknowledge the clear reality that death has again visited us. But we come here today not to proclaim the
victory of death, but to proclaim a more profound victory.
The victory we come to proclaim and
celebrate today Isaiah the prophet clearly preached, proclaimed and punctuated
with these words. Today we come “To
proclaim liberty to captives and freedom to prisoners; To proclaim the
favorable year of the Lord and the day of vengeance of our God”. For today we come to proclaim the vengeance
of our God in the victory Isaiah found of the good news of salvation. It is the good news of salvation found in
Jesus Christ. On May 28, 1950, John
Darrel Willems was washed clean in the blood of the lamb of God that took away
the sin of the world. Jesus Christ on
that day claimed Darrel in the waters of Holy Baptism and offered him the gift
of eternal life. And today we gather to
put the final exclamation point on the life of John Darrel Willems.
Granted, the Darrel all of us knew,
who some would swear had nine lives because of his brushes with mortality on
more than one occasion, was a quiet man that liked to get a rise out of or
elicit a reaction from the nurses and staff at Good Sam and even his own family. When I arrived here at Emmanuel in 2010,
Darrel was a shell of the man he once was, but still had the glint in his eye
and that spirit of fun coursing through his veins. Having lived his life here in Northwest
Kansas, served in the National Guard and planted more wheat than I can even
imagine, Darrel lived as one who had not only the scars of life and the brushes
with death, but as one who was surrounded by a family that loved him and put up
with his antics and loved him all the more.
Still living on the farm with Judy and Kyle, I remember celebrating our
first Christmas here in Kansas with Darrel’s family. And looking at Darrel across the table and
seeing the legacy he had not just of his children, but even his grandchild
Kaylee. But it was not just a legacy of
pride in the free spirit of Lezlee, the artistic ability of Kyle or that his youngest
son Kent had followed in his footsteps and become a well-known and respected
farmer here in Sherman County. Darrel’s
legacy with his wife Judy was found as well here in the church.
Isaiah reminds us that God and the
church has a clear purpose for we who gather here today, even on the day after
Ash Wednesday where we received the Ashen Cross. God sent His Son Jesus Christ “To
comfort all who mourn, To grant those who mourn in Zion, Giving them a garland
instead of ashes, The oil of gladness instead of mourning, The mantle of praise
instead of a spirit of fainting.”
Today we gather to be comforted with the Word of God that became flesh
and dwelt among us, Jesus Christ. Today,
the day after Ash Wednesday still with a small smudge of ash on our forehead, we
can find solace and peace through Jesus Christ and lay claim to the garland
offered to us through what Jesus Christ did on the Cross of Calvary for Darrel
and for each of us. Just as any good
farmer knows, when they plant the seed in the soil, whether like Darrel did of
wheat in the fall, or corn in the spring, the planting is just the beginning of
the journey. So to for Darrel on that
faithful Sunday in 1950, God planted the seed of the Gospel firmly in his life
and it began a journey that sees its completion today.
For today, we gather remembering
Darrel, his smile, his wry sense of humor, his legacy in Lezlee, Kyle and Kent
and their lives. But today we especially
gather to remember the legacy found in the seed planted in the waters of Holy
Baptism, nourished by the Body and Blood of the Lamb of God, and harvested last
week with Darrel’s entrance into the church triumphant. We gather today to as Isaiah said, “To
proclaim…freedom”. No longer is
Darrel held captive by the limitations of his earthly body. We “proclaim the favorable year of the Lord”. God has won the victory, the battle is now
over for Darrel because of what Jesus Christ did on the Cross of Calvary for
Darrel and for each and every one of us.
And today, Darrel now wears not just the “mantle of praise”, God “has
clothed Darrel with the garment of salvation” for all eternity. God has “wrapped Darrel with the robe of
righteousness” and now holds him united with his betrothed Judy in the
palm of God’s Holy, and precious arms for all eternity.
We who gather here today can be
assured of this and comforted by this fact, because of God’s promise fulfilled
in His Son and our Savior Jesus Christ for all of mankind, but especially for
all of us gathered here to say goodbye to Darrel, but especially for all the
saints of Darrel’s family. Thanks be to
God for the gift of His Son, Jesus Christ, for Darrel, and for all of us who
gather here waiting for our robe of righteousness and entrance to be with our
Lord and Savior with Judy, Darrel and all the saints proclaiming the victory of
our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. AMEN.
Now may the peace
of God which surpasses all human understanding guard our hearts and minds and
comfort us today, because of God’s victory for Darrel and each one of us! AMEN!
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